The present invention is drawn to a method and system for providing electronic discovery on computer databases and archives using Artificial Intelligence (AI). More particularly, the present invention uses AI search technology to apply sophisticated algorithms and probabilities to search computer databases and archives for data most relevant to legal activity such as litigation, regulatory proceedings, regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence inquiries, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and criminal law enforcement.
Businesses today maintain massive volumes of electronic and paper data. In dispute resolution, parties are often called on to sift through and produce relevant data, a process that is extremely labor-intensive and expensive.
For example, discovery requests during litigation can cause various problems for the parties with respect to hard copies, computer databases, and archives. For the party making discovery requests, the primary problems are (i) the enormous amount of data to be sifted through resulting from broad discovery requests and (ii) the failure to discover broadly distributed information resulting from narrow discovery requests. For parties responding to discovery requests, the primary problems are (i) the enormous amounts of data which must be kept and/or turned over as a result of the litigation and (ii) the unintended production of new discoverable material.
Problems can also arise before a complaint is filed. As soon as one-party knows there is a potential dispute, they will want to search their own side to assess risk and find evidence of problematic documents. They will also want to send a document preservation letter to the other side early in the process.
Once a complaint is filed, the litigant is under a duty to preserve what it knows, or reasonably should know, is relevant in the action, is reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence, is reasonably likely to be requested during discovery, and/or is the subject of a pending request. Williams v. GNC, 593 F. Supp. 1443 (C.D. Calif, 1984)
On the response side, is now fairly clear that automatic electronic document destruction cannot continue after the responding company receives discovery requests, subpoenas or other similar legal process. On the other hand, the company does not want full-scale disruption of its data retention policy.
Beyond the management of old archival documents, a substantial problem exists in the area of newly created data. Once litigation is filed, does every e-mail created after the lawsuit become fair game? The Microsoft case seemed to indicate that the answer is yes. There is currently no software system that helps a company manage the creation of new, responsive and potentially embarrassing data.
Likewise, similar situations occur with respect to creation, maintenance, and recovery of information relevant to other activity, such as, but not limited to, legal issues like regulatory compliance (e.g., EEO, EPA, FTC, etc.), mergers and acquisitions (liabilities, indemnification, etc.), due diligence inquiries, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and criminal law enforcement.
The present invention is a system and method for searching and managing data relevant to legal activity using artificial intelligence technology applied to computer databases and archives or any form of electronic data storage. Although primarily described as it relates to computer databases and archives, the present system can also be used on hardcopy documents by scanning them into electronic form.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cdiscoveryxe2x80x9d relates not only to discovery in litigation, but to data relevant to legal activities in general, such as, but not limited to, regulatory proceedings, regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence inquiries, criminal law enforcement, and FOIA requests. As such, the terms xe2x80x9crequesting partiesxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cresponding partiesxe2x80x9d are likewise meant to be broader than the litigation use of these terms. Additionally, the term xe2x80x9cartificial intelligencexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cAIxe2x80x9d refers to the simulation of human intelligence processes by computer systems. These processes include learning (the acquisition of information and rules for using the information), reasoning (using the rules to reach approximate or definite conclusions), and self-correction, as typically provided by a neural network that has been initially xe2x80x9ctrainedxe2x80x9d or fed large amounts of data and rules about data relationships.
Applying AI to discovery-related input parameters, requesting parties reviewing data on their systems or reviewing others data, can employ smart search agents or xe2x80x9cbotsxe2x80x9d against data to search for and extract legally responsive data. The AI software can be plugged directly into the database targets or analyzed off-site through referenced copies. Likewise, responding parties can use the technology on their computer systems to access legal issues (such as liability or compliance), produce responsive data, fine-tune their document retention system, and manage the creation of any new responsive data.
It is an object of the invention to provide legally trained, AI-based electronic discovery on computer systems, databases and archives using artificial intelligence to produce legally relevant output against any data, either originally captured or translated into electronic form.
It is an object of the invention to provide electronic discovery on computer databases and archives using the AI-trained search agents.
It is therefore another object of the invention to automatically identify newly created relevant materials on computer systems and databases.
It is an object of the invention to provide AI-trained search agents to recognize legal terms and facts related to legal terms so that the most legally relevant documents and data are produced.
It is a further object of the invention to allow companies to fine-tune their data retention policy to conform to legal requirements and allow the business to safely proceed with some form of retention destruction processes.
It is an object of the present invention to provide electronic discovery for the purpose of litigation, alternative dispute resolution, due diligence, regulatory compliance, legal risk management, and/or criminal law enforcement.
It is another object of the invention to operate a software program running in the background, using the AI concepts, that would alert general counsel or another insider that possibly relevant data has been created to allow for some measure of real-time handling, such as risk management.